Firm Proposes Tornado-Shaped Skyscraper In Downtown Tulsa
TULSA, Okla., March 13 (UPI) — An Oklahoma architecture firm’s proposal for a tornado-shaped skyscraper in downtown Tulsa includes a weather museum and a rotating restaurant at the top.
Architecture firm Kinslow, Keith & Todd designed the building, which they dubbed the Oklahoma Weather Museum & Research Center, as part of a “Reimagining Downtown” challenge for local magazine Tulsa People.
The architects said the building design, which would include a weather museum, a weather research center and a top-floor rotating restaurant, is meant to resemble a spinning tornado to draw attention.
“This would be Tulsa’s Space Needle,” architect Jim Boulware said. “No one else would have one.”
Andrew Kinslow, a partner at the firm, said there has been a lot of local excitement about the design, but thus far no clients have come forward seeking to take on the estimated $150 million construction project.
“There’s a number of people who would like to see it built,” Kinslow told The Huffington Post. “There’s a lot of oil money in Tulsa, and if people decide they want it done… it’ll get done.”
Kerry Joels, a museum consultant who’s worked at NASA and the Smithsonian, is working with Kinslow on the museum plans.
“When I saw Andy’s building I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, this is too good.’ We got together and started noodling,” he said.
“Oklahomans are survivors,” Joels said. “They’re tough, and they look at these things as a matter of life.”
“I just think it will be an iconic symbol of the city and Oklahoma, which is Tornado Alley,” he said.
